Brussels, 04/05/2007 (Agence Europe) - MEPs on the European Parliament's industry, research and energy committee voted on Friday 3 May by 43 to 0, with 2 abstentions, to accept the report by Gunnar Hökmark (EPP/ED, Sweden) on drawing up an EU broadband policy. Jorgo Chatzimarkakis (ALDE, Germany) said the vote went well and the committee had been able to make substantial amendments in order to reach a balanced compromise.
The report urges the European Commission and member states to introduce regulations that will act as an incentive to broader market penetration and the development of innovative new technology. With this in mind, the report recommends encouraging private funding; monitoring state aid to ensure it does not create an uneven playing field by encouraging national companies or monopolies to the detriment of new arrivals; ensuring technological neutrality and avoiding fragmentation; and introducing open standards that are technically, legally and semantically interoperable.
At the same time, the report recommends an EU integration policy for access to broadband especially for rural areas and the under-privileged. The MEPs clearly call for non-discriminatory access to broadband. Public funding, from the EU Structural Funds for example, could be granted if privately-run broadband is not profitable in the countryside. The report also focuses on education, hoping to get all schools and educational centres hooked up to broadband to ensure all EU children are connected. Access to online services should be encouraged, notes the report, for the civil service, education and public tendering.
Broadband services are mushrooming. Over the last three years, the number of broadband connections has virtually doubled and the number of people connected has almost quadrupled. This means that urgent action will be required if the Lisbon strategy objective of making the EU the most competitive knowledge-based economy in the world is to be achieved. (gc)